Wholesale prices fell a sharper-than-expected 0.6% in March after seasonable adjustments, with energy prices falling 3.4%, the Labor Department reported Friday. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch expected a 0.3% fall in the headline PPI. The producer price index has risen 1.1% in the past year, the smallest increase in eight months, the government said. The core PPI - which excludes food and energy prices - rose 0.2% in March, in line with expectations. Core prices are up 1.7% in the past year. The PPI had risen 0.7% in February, while the core rate was up 0.2%. (full story)